Questions on Parshas Shemini to think about and discuss:

1. What are the two signs of a kosher animal and what lies behind them?
2. Although there are two signs for the kosher fish, if you only find one of them it is enough. Which one and why?
3. Most of the birds are kosher. Only 24 are listed as non-kosher. Why then nowadays do we only eat a limited number of fowl?
4. The Torah does not provide signs to indicate whether a bird is kosher. Chazal provided four signs that show if a bird is kosher. What are these?
5. What is the connection between Parshas Shemini and Parshas Tzav?
6. What is a source of Aveiles learnt out from Parshas Shemini?
7. The 11^th Chapter in Parshas Shemini is split into three parts: Firstly, (1-23) describes animals permitted to be eaten; secondly, (24-40) discusses the dinim of tuma and tehara; Lastly, (41 onwards) it talks about forbidden animals and their warnings. How are these sections connected?
8. What lies behind the idea of two signs for a kosher animal (as found by animals and fish)? Why not just have one sign?
9. Why are there no signs for kosher birds written in the Torah?
10. We find that by birds, only twenty-four are listed as non-kosher. This means that the majority of birds are kosher. How is this significant? What is the significance of the number 24 as being non-kosher?
11. How were Doson and Avirom killed?
12. What is the extra big letter in Parshas Shemini and what does it tell us?
13. In our parsha there are the Shemona Sherotzim. What are they and how are they different to other creepy crawlies?
14. Amongst the different types of materials for vessels is cheres, earthenware. How is it different to all the other vessels?
15. Parshas Shemini talks about kosher meat. What was the process of meat being permitted to man?
16. What is the reason behind only certain animals being permitted while lots of others are forbidden?

Ideas for answers on the general parsha:

1. The two kosher signs for an animal are completely split hooves and chewing the cud. Perhaps the significance and the need for two signs are to show an important Jewish quality. Chewing the cud is an internal sign while split hooves are an external sign. A Jewish person needs to be kosher both internally and externally – “piv velebo shovin“.
2. The two kosher signs for a fish are fins and scales. If you only find scales you can assume that it also had fins since any that have scales certainly have fins. (Y.D. 83:3)
3. Sinaitic oral tradition provides signs to identify non-kosher fowl. However, since we lack experience to apply these rules we are only permitted to eat those fowl traditionally accepted as kosher.  (See Y.D. 82:2)
4. It does not stick its nails and trample its prey; it has an extra finger at the back of its feet; it has a zefek (the first place where the food reaches after going down its gullet as the start of the digestive process); its korkivon can be peeled by hand and does not need a knife. (Y.D. 82)
5. Parshas Tzav finishes discussing the seven days of the inauguration of the Mishkon (from the 23^rd Adar until the 29^th of Adar). Then Parshas Shemini continues with the eighth day, the first proper day of the permanent avoda on the 1^st of Nissan.
6. It is learnt from the Aveiles of Aaron over his two sons, Nodov and Avihu, (10:6). These include not tearing clothes and not having a haircut.
7. Perhaps the middle section links to the others to teach us a lesson. The tehara is an outcome from eating permitted animals with the correct intention. Conversely, tuma is brought about through consumption of non-kosher animals that have a negative impact on the spirituality of the person.
8. Here is the idea of having on internal sign – chewing the cud, and one external – having split hooves. Being kosher through and through – תוכו כברו – מבית ומבחוץ – פיו ולבו שוין.
9. The Chinuch explains that since we have a list of the non-kosher birds we then automatically know that all the rest are kosher. Therefore no sign is needed.
10. Perhaps the idea is that as things are higher from the ground they become more spiritual. Thus, birds that fly in the air and are only sometimes on the ground are more associated with the spiritual and therefore more of them are kosher. The number of 24 symbolises a certain wholesomeness – like a day is 24 hours and there were 24 משמרת.
11. Two strands of fire came out of the Kodesh Kodoshim and split into four. These then entered into their nostrils and burned their insides while leaving their outside bodies intact. (Gemora Sanhedrin 52a).
12. It is the big letter of Vav in the word “Gichon” (11:42) and it symbolises half of the Torah in letters…
14. Cheres is very porous and therefore what is absorbed will never fully leave the walls of the vessel. This is why when this vessel is tuma there is no way to purify it other than breaking it. Another difference is that all other vessels receive tuma when being touched inside and outside. However, with cheres, it gets tuma even when the tuma merely enters inside its airspace without actually touching it.
15. Odom was told to only eat vegetation. From Noach (when he left the tayva) he was allowed to eat all meat. The Jews when accepting the Torah were restricted to only eating kosher meat and this is what is being discussed in Parshas Shemini.
16. The Kil Yokor (11:2) says that non-kosher meat is not physically harmful but is spiritually harmful. This means that you are what you eat – the animalistic characteristics of the animal are passed on to people. Kosher meat comes from animals that eat vegetation and do not have the cruel nature of predators.